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IM evidence of electronic hanky pankying still private

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  • IM evidence of electronic hanky pankying still private

    At least in the state of Florida, copies of IM "conversations" cannot be used as evidence in civil cases like divorce.

    In a highly contentious divorce case, a woman installed spyware to collect evidence of her husband's online infidelity. She then submitted it as evidence of his philandering in their divorce case. The court ruled that she had violated state law by intercepting and recording the IMs.

    So at least for now, and at least in Florida, if you want to have play electronic hanky panky and you're married, your spouse can't use those salacious IMs as proof of your infidelity in order to get a bigger settlement!

    Wonder what the laws are in Hawai'i? Or if there even are laws yet in Hawai'i that govern the illegal interception and recording of private IMs? (Someone once told me I should get into Internet Law, because it's the wild, wild west right now out there in the area of digital rights).

    Miulang
    "Americans believe in three freedoms. Freedom of speech; freedom of religion; and the freedom to deny the other two to folks they don`t like.” --Mark Twain

  • #2
    Re: IM evidence of electronic hanky pankying still private

    If there isn't a Hawaii law specific to electronic communications, the standards for telephone interception probably apply. IIRC, and IANAL, Hawaii law requires at least one of the "active parties" in a communication to be aware of any monitoring or recording. So, if I were in a conversation with you, and I were taping it, I don't need to tell you. However, in a case like this, the wife was spying on her husband and his mistress, which would make it an illegal third-party act.

    I'm actually surprised by this decision. Courts have generally lagged in adapting precedents to account for new technology, and when they err, they usually err on the side of prosecution/plaintiffs.

    Of course, I doubt the wife in this case would have much trouble finding other evidence of unhappiness and infidelity in the divorce. Not the least of which being, after being caught, chances are the husband fessed up. This just excludes the specific introduction of the transcripts of proof.

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